Day 300- Clam with Squishy Ball Under Hip

This exercise adds a proprioceptive challenge to the external rotation of the clam

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a soft ball.  Start by lying on your side with your knees bent and your heels lined up with your sitz bones.  Your bottom hip will be on the soft ball.  Inhale into the back of your ribs and then exhale as you externally rotate at the hip to lift the knee while squeezing the legs together.  Inhale to release and then exhale angain.  Repeat 8-10 times. 

Things to think about

Keep the pelvis stacked in this exercise.  To isolate the rotation, it is important that the top hip does not fall backwards.  It is sometimes helpful to place a hand on the top hip to make sure that it is staying still.

As always with the soft ball try suspending the sine in the air on the elbow.  This will provide an environment that requires good connection between the ribs and the pelvis.

Day 282- Hot Potato

This exercise combines internal and external rotation at the hip socket with hip adduction and abduction.

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your side with your head, ribs, hips and heels line up.  Inhale into the back of the ribs as you lift your top leg.  Exhale as you rotate your leg outward and tap your heel to the ground behind you twice.  Inhale as you lift the leg and exhale as you internally rotate your leg and tap your toe to the ground in front of you twice.  Repeat 8-10 times

Things to think

The base of support in this exercise is smaller than in some other exercises.  This will make it challenging to keep the hips and shoulders stacked.  Try as much as you can to find the longest possible spine by lifting the waist and lengthening the legs away from you.  Imagine that your spine is a suspension bridge pulled evenly from all angles.

Think of the name of this exercise when you are thinking about the quality of movement.  When you move as if the floor is a hot potato, you can change the ways that you feel the muscles engage.

Day 280- Clam with Leg Lift

This exercise increases the external rotation range of motion at the hip socket

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your side with your knees bent and your head, ribs, hips, and heels in a line.  Inhale into the back of your ribs and then exhale as you squeeze your heels together and externally rotate your hip so that your top knee lifts.  Inhale again and then exhale as you maintain the external rotation and lift your top heel away from the bottom.  Inhale as you release the heel back to the bottom and lower the leg.  Repeat 8-10 times.

Things to think about

As with any side lying exercise, you want to make sure that the axis of your body is elongated, and that your hips and your shoulders remain stacked vertically.  Rotations in the spine will show in a ribcage that is shifted forward and hips that are shifted back. 

Enjoy the gentle burn that this exercise will cause in the hip, but watch out for anything the might start to feel painful.  

Day 277- The Clam

This exercise engages the external rotators of the thighs

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your side with your knees bent.  Be sure to keep your heels in line with the bottom of your pelvis.  Inhale into the back of your ribs and then exhale as you externally rotate in the hip socket to lift the top knee, while squeezing the heels together.  Inhale as you return your knee to the midline.  Repeat 8-10 times.

Things to think about

This exercise will increase range of motion at the hip.  It is important however to keep your hips stacked and move the leg without moving the hips.

Squeezing the heels together can also add inner thigh engagement, which increase the range of motion and prevent the quadriceps from being recruited.

Day 239- Scarecrow with Just Arms

This exercise is intended to isolate the external rotation of the shoulder in a prone position

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your belly with your legs lengthened long beneath you.  Place your elbows to the side of the body directly in line with your shoulders and allow your forearms to be placed at a right angle to the elbows.  Inhale to prepare and exhale as you press the elbows into the ground to lift the forearms.  Inhale as you release the forearms to the ground and then repeat 8-15 times.

Things to think about

This exercise strengthens the rotator cuff.  It is important to maintain a safe organization of the head, neck, and shoulders to make this movement as efficient as possible. 

The wrists will try to do the movement of the forearms for you.  Be sure that the wrists are lengthened and inline with the forearms.